Dry valve.



No. 719,259. PATENTED'JAN.27,1903.V

J. K. s. RAY & W. 1). MoNEILL,

DRY VALVE.-

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 3. 1902.

- H0 MODEL.

&

C} b 7 a N Q R. E F E ATTORNEYS.

llwrrnn STATES JAMES KING STRINGFIELD RAY AND WILLIAM DAVID MONETLL, OFVHITMIRE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

DRY VALVE.

'EPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,259, dated January27, 1903.

Application filed May 3,1902. Serial No. 105,792. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES KING STRING- FIELD RAY and WILLIAM DAVIDMQNEILL, citizens of the United States, and residents of WVhitmire, inthe county of Newberry and State of South Carolina, have invented a newand Improved Dry Valve, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

The invention relates to pressure controlled automatic valves such asare used in fire-extinguishers of the stationary sprinkler type; and itsobject is to provide a new and improved dry valve more especiallydesigned for use in the pipe-line between the main water-supply pipeleading from the storage tank or reservoir and the water-distributingpipes of the system, normally filled with air under pressure, the valvebeing simple and durable in construction and arranged to prevent leakageof air and water from the water-supply pipe to the air-filleddistributing-pipe and consequent sealing of the valve, thus allowing thevalve to open positively on the reduction of air-pressure in thedistributing-pipe in case of fire.

The invention consists of novel features and parts and combinations ofthe same, as will be more fully described hereinafter and then pointedout in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the improvement, showing thevalve in a closed position. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same,showing the valve in an open position. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of thevalve on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a reduced side elevationof a modified form of the valve.

The body A of the dry valve is provided with an. air-chamber B and awater-chamber C, connected with each other by an open connection D,forming in its bottom a drip-pan. The air-chamber B is connected withthe distributing-pipe E of the stationary sprinkler system, which pipe Eis normally filled with air under pressure, and the water-chamber C isconnected by the pipe F with a water-supply, such as an overhead tank orreservoir. The valve G within the air-chamber B is normally held on aseat B by air-pressure within the air-chamber, as plainly indicated inFig. 1, and the said valve G is provided with a hollow stem G, extendingthrough the connection D and the waterchamber 0 and mounted to slide inalined stuffing-boxes H, H, and H of which the stuffing-box H is on theair-chamber B and the stufifing-boxes 1-1 H are on opposite sides of thewater-chamber C.

On the outer reduced end G of the valvestem G is secured a handle Gadapted to form a stop and arranged to abut against the stuffing-box H(see Fig. 2) to limit the opening movement of the valve, the said handleG also serving to enable the operator to turn the valve G, so as tofirmly bind it on its seat B or to prevent leakage of air from thechamber B. The valve-stem G is provided with the admission-ports a,located on the reduced portion G and with the outlet-ports b, located adistance from the valve G, the said ports being so spaced apart thatwhen the valve G is in a closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, theinlet-ports a are outside of the stuffing-box 1-1 while the ports I)extend between the stufling-boxes H and ll in the connection D. Thuswhen the valve is in this position the interiors of the chambers O and Bare disconnected from each other; but when the valve is moved into anopen position, as shown in Fig. 2, then the portsa are within thewater-chamber O and the ports 6 extend within the air-chamber B, so thatcommunication is established between the said chambers O and YB by wayof the ports a, hollow valve-stem G, and ports b. (See Fig. 2.)

The valve G is normally held in a closed position by the preponderanceof air-pressure exerted against the face of the said valve within thechamber B to hold the said valve Gagainst its seat B and against thepressure of the water exerted against the shoulder Gr 95 formed on thevalve-stem G at the reduced portion G the said shoulder G extendingwithin the water-chamber C. Now in case the fusible sprinkler-head onthe distributingpipe E is opened by fire, then air escapes from I00 thedistributing-pipe E and the chamber B to reduce the pressure of air onthe face of the valve G to such an extent that the preponderance ofpressure is now exerted by the water against the shoulder G in thechamber 0 to cause the valve G to move into an'open position, asindicated in Fig. 2. When this takes place, the valve-stem establishescommunication between the chambers O and B, as previously explained, toallow the water to flow from the chamber 0 by way of the ports a, hollowstem G, and ports I) into the chamber B to the distributing-pipe E andto the fire to extinguish the same.

The valve G may be moved from a closed position into an open position byother means than the one described abovethat is, the valve may bearranged in an upright position, as indicated in Fig. t-and in this casethe shoulder G may be omitted, as the valve then moves into an openposition by its own weight as soon as the air-pressure in the chamber Bis reduced, as above explained.

Now when the valve is in a closed position, as previously explained,then leakage of air from the chamber Bis prevented by the valve G beingfirmly held to its seat B, and any water that may leak from the chamber0 past the stuffing-box H cannot pass into the chamber 13, and thus sealthe valve G, as the said water passes from the stuffing-box H into thedrip-pan of the open connection D,from which the water may be conductedto the ground or other place of discharge.

Devices of this character are hung up normally inactive, sometimes for aperiod of years, before the emergency arises requiring their operation.This being the case there is always danger of the escape of air from thein the water-chamber.

chamber B, which would cause the piston G to operate at an inopportunetime and the device would be practically worthless when the emergencyrequiring its use should arise. Hence it is desirable that mechanism ofthis character should be so constructed that although much of the airinthechamberB should escape the comparatively light pressure stillremaining would serve to hold the piston G firmly in its inoperativeposition, even though there should be unusual pressure at times in thewater-chamber. This advantage we have embodied in our piston by the useof the shoulder G since the area of said shoulder is very small compared with the area of the end of the valve in the air-chamber. Hence acomparatively light pressure in the air-chamher will predominate over aheavy pressure Combined with the advantages just stated we also have thewator-pressure to rely upon ,for promptly bringing the valve intooperative position when a fire occurs.

Having thus described our invention, we

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A dry valvecomprising an air-chamber, a water-chamber, a hollow valve, normallycutting off comm unication between said chambers and'extending into theopen air, inletports and outlet-ports in said valve, the former'normallyoutside the casing in the open air, said ports adapted when the valve isin operative position to respectively connect the water and air chambersby means of the central opening of the valve as specified and shown.

2. A dry valve comprisinga casing, an inletopening at one end thereof,and an outletopening at the other end, an elongated hollow piston havingan enlarged member and a reduced member, openings in the enlargedmember, near the end of the piston, openings in the reduced member, nearthe other end of the piston, said piston being adapted to haveair-pressure against one end of said enlarged member and water-pressu reagainst the other, and to be automatically moved into or out ofoperative position by the predominance of one or the other of saidopposing pressures, and a stop at each end of the piston for limitingthe movement thereof, as specified and shown.

3. A dry valve comprising a casing, an inletopening at one end and anoutlet-opening at the other end thereof, a hollow elongated piston withclosed ends, said piston having an enlarged member. and a reducedmember, openings in the enlarged member, near one end of the piston,openings in the reduced member near the other end thereof, said pistonadapted to have air-pressure normally against one end of said enlargedmember and water-pressure against the other end thereof, a stop on theextreme end of the larger member of the piston for limiting its movementin one direction and a stop on the outer end of the reduced member forlimiting the movement of the piston in the opposite direction, saidlatter stop being without the valve-casing in the open air, saidopenings near the ends of the two members of the piston being adapted toform a connection through the hollow of the piston, between the inletand the outlet openings of the casing when the valve is in operativeposition, as set forth.

4. A dry valve comprising a casing having two chambers, each normallycontaining an agent under compression, an elongated hollow piston-valvenormally cutting off communication between said chambers, andautomatically movable'back and forth between them, being pressed in onedirection by the agent in one of the chambers and in the other directionby the agent in the other chamber, and adapted to be moved in onedirection or the other, according as the pressure on one endpredominates over the pressure on the other, said Valve having openingsnear each end thereof leading into its hollow portion, said hollowportion and openings being adapted to form a connection between the twochambers when the piston is in its abnormal position and means whereby alight pressure in a given one of the chambers predominates IIO over agreater pressure in the other to control the piston in a predeterminedposition as specified and for the purpose set forth.

5. A dry valve, comprising an air-chamber, a water-chamber, an openconnection between the chambers, and a valve in the said airchamber,normally seated on a seat therein by the pressure of the air in theair-chamber against the valve, the valve having a hollow stem closed atthe outer end and provided with spaced inlet and outlet ports, out ofregister with the chambers at the time the valve l is closed and adaptedto open into the chaml Witnesses:

bers when the valve is open, the said stem having a shoulder Within thewater-chamber, as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES KING STRINGFIELD RAY. WILLIAM DAVID MCNEILL.

R. E. PATTERSON, J r., T. W. COLEMAN.

